Patrick Cherry, a NYPD officer and member of the FBI's top-secret Joint Terrorism Task Forces, is Exhibit A of what is wrong with our nations police. This Uber driver committed the Class A felony of honking at Officer Cherry's unmarked police car for not turning his blinker on before parking on a busy New York street.

This is what ensued.

I have to admit that I'm sick and tired of this crap. Police officers claim they just don't understand why the public doesn't trust them, but this officers behavior should provide them with enough evidence as to why the public has turned on them. Instead of protecting and serving 'the people' they are berating and mocking them for being born in another country.

Another thing that frustrates me is how every cop wants to claim this is just an isolated incident. They want us to believe that this is just a rogue cop who doesn't reflect the overall police force. I call bullshit. How many more 'isolated incidents' must we be subjected to before they finally admit there is a systemic, nationwide problem with our nations police forces? American citizens are not the enemy and we need to demand to stop being treated as such.

Police forces across the country are just trying to come to grips with the fact that every day Americans are finally starting to video tape their abhorrent and racist behavior and are still trying to figure out a way to explain it without turning everyone against them. They really don't like the fact that everyone has a video camera on their cell phones in today's age. Now all of their questionable actions are caught on tape and that doesn't make them happy. The court of public opinion is a hell of a lot more damning than a grand jury will ever be.

How many more instances of police abuse will have to be caught on camera before we can all admit that we have a problem in this country? Police officers, the people sworn to serve and protect us, are out of control and it's long past time we as a society begin to rein them in.

Honestly, this puts good cops in a really bad position. If they speak out or whistle blow on bad cops then they are ostracized from their work environment. Other cops won't trust them etc. And you need trust on the force. We need to change the mentality in police departments and find a way to keep them honest without putting good cops on the line.

About a week ago I saw a story about a man who fled police because he was scared that they had pulled out their batons. He was chased down and beaten by cops in Philadelphia. He did not resist arrest so nothing caused the beating. The whole fiasco was caught on a surveilance cam. I was going to post about it because it looked pretty bad but I didn't want to keep calling cops bad. I know that one day they'll have a good day and nobody will die or get beaten. The officers are in trouble and this has been an embarrassing incident.

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I just watched the NYPD video. What an asshole ! That cop was a jerk and he just added a log to the fire of people hating and not trusting cops.18 months ago - not all phones had video capabilities. Thank god they do now. Very cool passengers as well.

An older "Black Man" (67) who worked for FORD in Michigan for 37 years.......no negatives in his history. Cops pull him over, pull their guns, beat the hell out of him and later arrest him for possession of Crack Cocaine. Ultimately 10 "White" cops. After being beaten by the cops he goes to the hospital for treatment. He asks them to run a test on him to check for drugs........ Clean as a whistle. One of the cops who had him in a head lock had a history of planting evidence and it's said that video shows it being planted. O M G !!!!! Paid with our tax dollars !!!!!! I think in instances like this, the officer should be fired with absolutely no chance for rehire. Oh, by the way, they tased the 67 year old man three times. Probably because they only had a 10 - 1 ratio - and he was unarmed.

This bum should be thrown off the force! Unfortunately, they will make him a paper shuffler for a few weeks then he'll be right back on the streets harassing the public. The cops never seem to learn that they are their own worse enemy because of the way the treat the public!

As I said many times in the past, recruiting "military types" and do the "military training" causes all of this, as well the military equipment they get does not help.So they really don't know who the enemy is; even in the army they are not trained who the "real" enemy is ( answer "themselves") They also do not screen the background of the "bully" types; as long as you have a "football" posture you are hired; mentality does not count.

The cop who was shown in the above video has been stripped of his badge and gun and placed on desk duty. He is also being removed from the JTTF and reassigned to another department.

I think this is great news and hopefully has cops terrified. They are slowly beginning to realize that they can't behave the way they are so accustomed to now that they can basically assume they are always being recorded. I just hope that this is a wake up call for cops who think they are the law and not enforcers of the law.

As pr said above...................... Even when they do "Something" it's never nearly enough. As I said, they should suddenly be unemployed. Differently employed is merely a light smack of the hands. Firing them would be a real wake up call. Let them face fear. Fear of not paying the mortgage, utilities, or groceries. I'm sorry jared but this time I don't agree. It wasn't a large step forward it was a small step sideways.

TJ Wrote: As pr said above...................... Even when they do "Something" it's never nearly enough. As I said, they should suddenly be unemployed. Differently employed is merely a light smack of the hands. Firing them would be a real wake up call. Let them face fear. Fear of not paying the mortgage, utilities, or groceries. I'm sorry jared but this time I don't agree. It wasn't a large step forward it was a small step sideways.

I totally agree, but unfortunately the police unions in this country are pretty much untouchable. Hell--they don't get fired for killing unarmed citizens. Do you realistically expect them to get fired for going on a racist tirade?!

So we will still have a problem. I think it's one of the biggest problems in this country and as a white man I'm not in the group being targeted but I still see it as a huge problem based on HATE. I always focused on the officers as being the problem because it seemed to be their own personal decisions that exasperated the situation. Should we also consider the police unions to be an element in this problem ? It's what unions are supposed to do (represent their members) however it's collective bargaining and progress can be made. I want to attack this problem but I'm not sure where to aim. I don't see the issue going away because people don't like injustice.

pr Wrote: What this country needs is civilian review boards for all police with more power than either the unions or the police themselves.

I couldn't agree more. We, the people, can take power away from cops. It has been done before and it can be done again. The problem is that too many Americans don't know their rights and think that nothing can be done. We can change things, but we have to force it. Cops will take as much power as they can possibly get their hands on, but we can push back and bring them back in line.

TJ Wrote: Should we also consider the police unions to be an element in this problem ? It's what unions are supposed to do (represent their members) however it's collective bargaining and progress can be made. I want to attack this problem but I'm not sure where to aim. I don't see the issue going away because people don't like injustice.

The police unions are a huge element of this problem. They have basically made it impossible to fire a cop regardless of the act they have done. The courts also are a huge part of this problem because the DA that glad hands with cops all the time is the same person, in the vast majority of states, that investigates them when they murder a citizen. I think the courts are a larger impediment to progress than police unions, but they both play a major role in perpetuating the status quo that allows cops to be above the law and not enforcers of it.

TJ Wrote: Should we also consider the police unions to be an element in this problem ? It's what unions are supposed to do (represent their members) however it's collective bargaining and progress can be made. I want to attack this problem but I'm not sure where to aim. I don't see the issue going away because people don't like injustice.

The police unions are a huge element of this problem. They have basically made it impossible to fire a cop regardless of the act they have done. The courts also are a huge part of this problem because the DA that glad hands with cops all the time is the same person, in the vast majority of states, that investigates them when they murder a citizen. I think the courts are a larger impediment to progress than police unions, but they both play a major role in perpetuating the status quo that allows cops to be above the law and not enforcers of it.

Jared yes; the one protects the other; that is how it works in a dictorial environment; The same as our generals ; don't touch them.

Tell me if you've heard this one......."White cop kills unarmed black man....." Wait, you've heard that one ? Change the date and the names but all else remains too familiar....Here's a new twist !!!! The cop is being charged with murder...... I didn't see that coming. Oh yeah, the reason this man was pulled over ?A bad tail light. That will get you killed all day, every day.